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The role and meaning of play for children’s learning and development has been clear in preschool teacher’s education. The purpose of this study is to contribute knowledge on the experience of preschool teachers on how play can promote children’s learning and development. The study makes use of the qualitative method wherein five pre-school teachers were interviewed.  The results from this study showing that based on their experiences, the preschool teachers have seen and described play as a safe place to develop social interactions. The preschool teachers show how play is actively used in the preschool for learning and development to promote the children's learning and development, which contributes linguistically, empathically, motoric ally and not least promotes their independence. The results showed that they use play as a tool in planned play and activities with didactic questions for learning based on interesting topics for children and for children's developmental needs. It is important that preschool teachers understand the difference between free play and planned play and how these contribute to children's learning and development. The preschool teachers make it clear based on their experience that they have an important task to challenge children in everyday activities in a fun way. Furthermore, the results show that the pre-school teacher's presence and active listening are important in children's play / I hela förskollärarutbildningen har lekens betydelse för barns lärande ochutveckling varit tydlig. Syftet med studien är att bidra med kunskaper omförskollärares erfarenheter av hur leken kan främja barns lärande ochutveckling. Studien bygger på en kvalitativ metod där fem förskolelärare harintervjuats. Denna studie har vart intressant och lärorik i relation till syftet ochfrågeställningarna.Resultat från denna studie visar att förskollärarna utifrån sina erfarenheter harsett och beskrivs leken som en trygg plats att utveckla sociala samspel.Förskollärna visar hur lek använder aktiv i förskolan till lärande ochutveckling för att främjar barnens lärande och utveckling, som bidrar språkligt,empatiskt, motoriskt och inte minst främja deras självständighet. I resultatethar framkommit att de använder lek som verktyg i planerad lek och aktivitetermed didaktiska frågor för lärande utifrån intressanta ämnen för barn och förbarns behov av utveckling. Det är viktigt att förskollärare förstår skillnadenmellan fri lek och planerad lek och hur dessa bidrar till barns lärande ochutveckling. Förskollärarna tydliggör utifrån deras erfarenhet att de har enviktig uppgift att utmana barn i vardagliga aktiviteter på ett lustfyllt sätt. Vidareframkommer i resultatet att förskollärares närvarande och lyssnar in aktiv ärviktigt i barns lek

Kollegialt lärande är en metod där arbetslaget definierar problem och utmaningar i den egna praktiken i ett professionsutvecklande syfte. Föreliggande studie fokuserar på kollegialt lärande i arbetslaget i förskolan där samarbetet mellan förskollärare och barnskötare är av stor betydelse. Av den anledningen utgår studien från både ett förskollärarperspektiv och ett barnskötarperspektiv av det kollegiala lärandet i förskolan. För att synliggöra en varierad bild av kollegialt lärande i förskolan syftar denna studie till att söka kunskap om förskollärares och barnskötares resonemang om den egna professionsutvecklingen. Studiens teoretiska utgångspunkt är systemteorin där sociala system likt förskolans organisation, betraktas som öppna och i ständig utveckling. Studien är baserad på intervjuer med förskollärare och barnskötare där deras resonemang av kollegialt lärande lyfts fram. Analysen av dessa resonemang resulterade i tre teman; Resonemang om kollegialt lärande, Förskollärarens och barnskötares roll i det kollegiala lärandet samt Upplevelser av det kollegiala lärandets bidrag till förskolebarnets lärande och utveckling. Resultatet visar betydelsen av kollegialt lärande för att uppnå variation och således ändra konstansen för att tillföra ny kunskap till arbetslaget. Nivåer i organisationen där hierarkier har betydelse för att uppnå struktur i lärandeorganisationen samt upplevelser av att ett helhetstänkande där hela arbetslagets kompetenser är betydelsefulla, dominerar i alla tre teman. Studien har bidragit till att öka kunskapen om att kollegialt lärande är en effektiv metod att använda i förskolans kontext i ett professionsutvecklande syfte. Emellertid visar studien att kollegialt lärande är avhängigt av ett tillvaratagande av hela arbetslagets kompetens samt betydelsen av att förskolläraren leder och strukturerar samarbetet mellan kollegorna. / Collegial learning is a method where the work team defines problems and challenges in their own practice for the purpose of professional development. The present study focuses on collegial learning in the work team in preschool where the cooperation between preschool teachers and nannies is of great importance. For that reason, the study is based on both a preschool teacher’s perspective and a nannie’s perspective on collegial learning in preschool. To create a visible and varied picture of collegial learning in preschool, this study aims to seek knowledge about preschool teachers and nannies reasoning about their own professional development. The study’s theoretical point of departure is system theory, where social systems, like preschools organization, are considered open and in constant development. The study is based on interviews with preschool teachers and nannies where their reasoning for collegial learning is highlighted. The analysis of these reasoning resulted in three themes: Reasoning about collegial learning, the role of the preschool teachers and nannies in the collegial learning and experience of the contribution of the collegial learning to the preschool child learning and development. The result shows the importance of collegial learning to achieve variation and thus change the constancy to add new knowledge to the work team. Levels in the organization where hierarchies are important for achieving structure in the learning organization, as well as experiences of holistic thinking where the competencies of the entire work team are important, dominate in all three themes. The study has contributed to increasing the knowledge that collegial learning is an effective method to use in the preschool context for a professional development purpose. However, the study shows that collegial learning is dependent on utilizing the competence of the entire work team as well as the importance of the preschool teachers leading and structuring the collaboration between colleagues.

The critical role that an effective systematic training evaluation practice plays is in its ability to collect value systematically. The collected data is utilised to make a judgement or to evaluate learnings contribution. Without the training evaluation practice learning value is obscured. The instructionnal systems design (ISD) Addie is assessed as the systematic structure that can greatly assist the training evaluation practice. It supports the proposal of collecting value throughout the training lifecycle for the holistic view of learning value. The Kirkpatrick and Phillips (K/P) summative framework will be used to assess the current practice in collecting post-learning data. Addie was highly valued by the survey participants. The current summative practice in the organisation stops mainly at level two of the Kirkpatrick/Phillips model. The practice lacks comprehensive data collection at recommended best practice levels and is therefore, not effective, efficient and systematic in its approach to declare learning value. / Human Resource Management / M. Tech. (Human Resource Management)

Van der Horst, H van R. / With the introduction in 1998 of Outcomes-Based Education in South Africa, educators will no longer be passive recipients of a curriculum developed within the ivory towers of a Department of Education. Curriculum development will be the task of every educator at the site of delivery. Media articles have painted a gloomy picture of the calibre of educator expected to manage the demands of Outcomes-Based Education. The researcher is of the opinion that there are many dedicated educators willing to accept the historic nature of the journey which lies ahead of them, and who, with the adoption of an encouraging, supportive approach to professional development, will be willing to work with, adapt, modify and improve the Outcomes-Based curriculum presented to them. Educators need to assume responsibility for the professional development of Learning Programmes and the learner support materials to ensure that learners get to grips with the new curriculum. This task can be achieved through high-quality in-service education, training and re-training of educators. This study describes workshops developed by the researcher to familiarise the educators with the Specific Outcomes Framework of Curriculum 2005, and to develop an in-depth understanding of the Specific Outcomes without which, the educators would be at a loss to develop meaningful Learning Programmes. Examples of Learning Programmes developed by some of the participating educators over a period of twelve months indicate the levels of proficiency attained through close monitoring and assistance offered by the researcher. Outcomes-Based Education has been successful where all involved have taken on the challenge to do their best and as we collectively strive to improve the standard of education in South Africa, let us, in the words of Jane Hofmeyer (Article (b),Sunday Times, 25/10/98), "look forward to the day when every child as an educational birthright, can claim access to competent, caring and committed teachers and schools that are organised for success." / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)

A b s t r a c t This thesis is a part of the project concerning risk factors of manifestation of specific learning disabilities in children at risk of dyslexia. Specifically, it deals with the development of morphology in children with family history of specific learning disabilities. Children in preschool and early school age have been repeatedly within three years tested with a diagnostic tool called Test of morphological awareness based on the Test of language (Žlab, 1992). The aim of the study was to map the development of several sub-areas of morphological skills (gender forms, plural nouns, past tense and 3rd person singular verb, adjectives derivation and grammatical agreement). Several issues were concerned. First, whether the development of children in this age group is still ongoing and so if the performance is improving. Second, whether there are differences in the development of children from an intact group (with normal speech development) and a risk group (children from families where at least one parent has suffered from specific learning disabilities). Third, whether is the development influenced by intelligence or sex. Performance of children was also assessed qualitatively with respect to specific language features included in the monitored areas of morphology. The conclusions of each...

The critical role that an effective systematic training evaluation practice plays is in its ability to collect value systematically. The collected data is utilised to make a judgement or to evaluate learnings contribution. Without the training evaluation practice learning value is obscured. The instructionnal systems design (ISD) Addie is assessed as the systematic structure that can greatly assist the training evaluation practice. It supports the proposal of collecting value throughout the training lifecycle for the holistic view of learning value. The Kirkpatrick and Phillips (K/P) summative framework will be used to assess the current practice in collecting post-learning data. Addie was highly valued by the survey participants. The current summative practice in the organisation stops mainly at level two of the Kirkpatrick/Phillips model. The practice lacks comprehensive data collection at recommended best practice levels and is therefore, not effective, efficient and systematic in its approach to declare learning value. / Human Resource Management / M. Tech. (Human Resource Management)

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T20:57:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Lilian Cassia Bacich Martins.pdf: 737360 bytes, checksum: 4856be811f8c4f6cf58b53ca320f9393 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-05-15 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The aim of the present research was to verify if 5 years old students, attending pre-school, can establish relationships between the concepts of hygiene , health and microbes , which were previously worked through participation in an experiment mediated by the researcher. The Socio-historical theory in Psychology provided support for data analyses. All data was collected through activities that took place in the proper educational context of the students, respecting the social and cultural milieu provided by the school. Initially, in order to recognize the children s everyday concepts, a story in which the main character was Cascão, a member of Monica s group was told; it was followed by an experiment at the school s lab, which main focus was the development of microorganisms colonies. Finally, a follow-up was completed, making use of comic strips from Monica s group comic story. The results showed that a conceptual advance had happened, being incorporated in children s choices and decisions. Since the pupils had established relations among the studied concepts, the conclusion pointed out that if it is possible to promote conceptual changes in the subjects, this does not imply the elaboration of scientific concepts themselves. In fact, this must not be intended to, since the ZRD of the children do not allow so / A presente pesquisa buscou verificar se alunos de 5 (cinco) anos, que cursam a Educação Infantil, estabelecem relações entre os conceitos de Higiene, Saúde e Micróbios, os quais foram previamente trabalhados durante uma atividade de experimentação mediada por um adulto. A psicologia sócio-histórica termo que se refere à psicologia fundamentada nos pressupostos estudados por Vigotski e seus colaboradores é a base teórica adotada nesse trabalho. A metodologia utilizada emprega os pressupostos da psicologia sócio-histórica para entender o processo de formação de conceitos em Ciências Naturais. Toda a observação e aplicação das atividades aconteceram no próprio contexto educativo do aluno, buscando-se, assim, manter uma das idéias mais importantes de Vigotski acerca da investigação Psicológica: o respeito às situações socioculturais reais do sujeito. Foi realizada, inicialmente, uma atividade de reconhecimento dos conceitos cotidianos, utilizando-se uma história do Cascão, personagem da Turma da Mônica, seguida por uma atividade experimental no laboratório da escola; a qual enfocou o desenvolvimento de colônias de microrganismos. Finalmente, foi realizado um follow-up a partir de discussão de tirinhas da Turma da Mônica. Como observado por meio do discurso das crianças, foi possível observar nelas um avanço conceitual que passou a participar de suas escolhas e decisões. Os alunos estabeleceram relações entre os conceitos estudados, de modo que, se é possível promover mudanças conceituais em alunos da Educação Infantil, isso não implica nem deve pretender formar conceitos científicos propriamente ditos, os quais estão muito além da ZDP das crianças

This research investigates the new psychological contract phenomenon in an organisational case study. The research question underpinning this study is - What are the core attributes of the new employment relationship? To investigate this research question, the researcher applied Noer's (1997) new employment relationship model to a disproportionate stratified sample of 19 participants from three organisational perspectives in an Australian-based international travel retail organisation, Flight Centre Limited, which specialises in the sale of discount international airfares. Data from a survey instrument were analysed using a "Multi-source Assessment" instrument. The data analysis method was used to create a schema to guide and inform a series of focus groups. The research findings validated Noer's five attributes of Flexible Employment, Customer-focus, Focus on Performance, Project-based Work and Human Spirit & Work. In addition, three other attributes of the new employment relationship emerged from the data, namely, Loyalty & Commitment, Learning & Development and Open Information. The research findings validate eight core attributes of the new employment relationship and therefore make a contribution to the expanding body of research in this field. The research approach also provides organisational practitioners with a unique consulting methodology to merge the changing needs and interests of individual and organisation.

Van der Horst, H van R. / With the introduction in 1998 of Outcomes-Based Education in South Africa, educators will no longer be passive recipients of a curriculum developed within the ivory towers of a Department of Education. Curriculum development will be the task of every educator at the site of delivery. Media articles have painted a gloomy picture of the calibre of educator expected to manage the demands of Outcomes-Based Education. The researcher is of the opinion that there are many dedicated educators willing to accept the historic nature of the journey which lies ahead of them, and who, with the adoption of an encouraging, supportive approach to professional development, will be willing to work with, adapt, modify and improve the Outcomes-Based curriculum presented to them. Educators need to assume responsibility for the professional development of Learning Programmes and the learner support materials to ensure that learners get to grips with the new curriculum. This task can be achieved through high-quality in-service education, training and re-training of educators. This study describes workshops developed by the researcher to familiarise the educators with the Specific Outcomes Framework of Curriculum 2005, and to develop an in-depth understanding of the Specific Outcomes without which, the educators would be at a loss to develop meaningful Learning Programmes. Examples of Learning Programmes developed by some of the participating educators over a period of twelve months indicate the levels of proficiency attained through close monitoring and assistance offered by the researcher. Outcomes-Based Education has been successful where all involved have taken on the challenge to do their best and as we collectively strive to improve the standard of education in South Africa, let us, in the words of Jane Hofmeyer (Article (b),Sunday Times, 25/10/98), "look forward to the day when every child as an educational birthright, can claim access to competent, caring and committed teachers and schools that are organised for success." / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)